The Challenge of Daydraea's Bracelets
by MelodyStar
Summary: Vyse and company stumble across an ancient secret, resulting in the treasure hunt of their lives!
1. The Discovery

CHAPTER 1

            Something about the ancient structure had been bothering Aika since they had entered it.  Located in Deep Sky, seemingly forgotten since the beginning of time, the darkness and the stone walls seemed to emanate a secret was confined within.

            But what kind of secret?  This is what bothered Aika the most.  Excited by her love of treasure and adventure, she was the first to cry out in favour of seeking this place out after a recent treasure discovery found writings of a time long ago, with this place being left as a relic full of treasures untold.

            'Or so I had hoped,' she thought to herself, smirking.  There wasn't any one word to describe this place, enveloped in the darkness of Deep Sky.  Its old architecture suggested it might have been a temple, or a shrine, or a palace, by the great pillars that stood on the outside of it, and the grand staircase leading up to massive, double stone doors, implied that within rested an entity of great majesty.

            That had been five minutes ago.  It was quickly apparent that this place was not very large.  The party of Vyse, Fina, and Aika, were making their way down a dark hallway, the only passageway leading out of the small foyer that welcomed them past the ancient double doors.  There had been no other intersections since.  The three walked on in silence, kept to their own thoughts, Vyse unconsciously in the lead as he brandished the torch ahead of them which lit their way.

            Suddenly, the walls around them stopped, and the trio stepped into a chamber.  It was large enough such that the warm orange glow of the torch held by Vyse couldn't quite reach all the way across the room.  Instinctively, they looked up, and saw that they could not see the ceiling.

            Cupil began to chirp softly.  Fina brought her hands up to cover her heart, and lowered her head, listening.  Aika continued to look around at the walls, her left hand casually resting on her hip as she leaned comfortably to one side.  Vyse looked around as well, silently disappointed that their arrival had gone completely unchallenged.

            Finally, Aika spoke up.  She'd always been one to wear her heart on her sleeve, and her uneasiness couldn't be holed up inside of her any longer.  "Do you guys get kind of a funny feeling about this place?  There's something not quite right."

            Vyse turned his head towards her and smiled.  "You're right.  We haven't met any kind of resistance in this place.  Maybe it's haunted!"

            Aika's eyes widened as she whirled around to face Vyse, her hands closing into fists as she leaned forwards towards him.  "That's not funny!"  

            "It is, because you can't see your face when you react to a statement like that," he chuckled.  "But really, what's bothering you?"

            Aika turned back towards the wall she was looking at before.  "I can't pinpoint it, for the most part…but Vyse, look at the wall."

            "The wall?"  Vyse raised his eyebrows in disbelief.  He stepped over to where Aika was standing and followed her gaze.

            "It's completely smooth."

            Vyse blinked as he leaned forward slightly to make sure he was seeing things correctly.  Aika was right.  The wall was entirely devoid of mortar lines.  His eyes widened.  "How can that be...?"

            Aika had resumed her previous posture.  "Well, maybe this place was built with huge slabs of rock pulled right out of the ground."

            Vyse looked back at the wall.  "It's possible."  He flashed a quick smile.  "After all we've been through so far, that just may be it."

            "I don't think so," came a soft voice from behind them.  Vyse and Aika turned to look at Fina, her hands still clasped lightly above her heart.  "Cupil senses…something.  I don't know for certain, but I don't think this place was made by people…"

            Silence gently draped over them.  All three of them were now staring at the wall.  Aika frowned.  "But, then, if not people, then…?"

            "The Eons," replied a gruff voice from the direction of the doorway that led back into the passageway.  All three whipped around at the sound of the familiar voice.

            "Gilder!" exclaimed Aika.  She rushed over to fling her arms around his neck in greeting.  Gilder smiled and set her back down onto the smooth stone floor.  Fina was smiling and Vyse grinning, all being reunited with a good friend once again.

            "What are you doing here?" Aika asked, as soon as the excitement had died down some.

            Gilder flashed her a stunning smile, straightened and put a hand on his hip.  "The same as you three, I'd imagine.  I'm not sure if you know this, but the discovery of ancient writings that hints at new treasure to be found is huge news that travels fast within the pirate community."

            "We were counting on that to further our popularity.  Vyse has all but lonely old women hitting on him everywhere we go, now," Aika winked.  Vyse chuckled nervously and raised his right arm up and behind his head.

            "You said something about the Eons, Gilder…the word sounds familiar to me, somehow…"  Fina trailed off, bringing the conversation back on topic.

            The grin melted off of Gilder's face as his tone faded back into seriousness.  "Something is about the extent of it.  It seems that everything there is to know about the Eons was lost with the Old World, except some scant details.  All I could find out for certain was that they were a group of god-like entities with enormous power.  Power that could easily construct a place like this," he interrupted himself by raising his own torch up as high as he could reach.  The light did not touch the ceiling.  "Smooth, continuous rock walls, stretching up to a high ceiling, all still entirely intact after centuries of time passing by."

            The four stood in awed silence for a moment.  It was Fina who broke it.  

            "Maybe that's it…"

            The other three looked at Fina and blinked.  "Maybe 'what' is it, Fina?" Vyse replied.

            Fina turned to look at him.  "Cupil.  Earlier, when he was chirping…maybe whoever built this place is still here, somewhere…"

            Silence again.  Gilder interrupted it, this time.  "There's only one way to find out."  He grinned again.  "Let's go see what's at the other end of this room."

            Aika hopped with glee.  "I'm with you!  Captain?"

            Vyse glanced over at Fina, then addressed all three.  "Let's go!"

            It wasn't long until the four were facing the wall opposite from the door leading back to the hallway, and exit.  Cupil began chirping again.  Aika looked around in apprehension.  "Some treasure hunt…a bare dead end!"

            Vyse was waiting (or perhaps, shall we say, hoping?) for some kind of ancient guardian to reveal itself and present a challenge that would earn them a victory prize, like so many other of their adventures had done.  Fina remained quiet.  Only Gilder seemed to notice something.  He was holding his torch up and looking at the wall.

            "Hey, Fina?  Does any of that look familiar to you?"

            The other three turned to follow his gaze.  The wall was not smooth like the others; this wall had various markings on it.  To Aika, it looked like a bunch of random scratchings.  Vyse thought he may be able to make little pictures out of the slashes in the rock.  Fina's eyes widened.

            "I can't read exactly all of it, but it very closely resembles the ancient language of the Silvites!"

            Aika and Vyse gasped and turned to look at Fina, their jaws dropping.  Her face remained pointed at the wall, her eyes set in determination.

            "Abandoned…mother…um, shut…sleepening…to remain…er…no, sorry, to anticipate…words…spell broken…ah…"  She trailed off, studying the wall for a moment.  "I can't make out most of the rest of it.  It says something like…'awake, be called Daydraea'."

            Vyse cocked his head to one side, resting a fist on his hip.  "Daydraea…"

            Aika had once again resumed her most natural pose.  "Sounds like a pretty girl's name."

            Vyse shrugged.  "It sounds ancient."

            "It is ancient," Fina responded, her hands once again clasped to her chest.  "It bears the signification that itself is a proper name, but the word 'daydraea' translates into 'earth child'."

            "Earth child…" Vyse repeated.  "Hn.  I wonder if it means anything here…"

            Gilder was still looking at the writings, his eyebrows furrowed.  "I think I remember mention of an earth child in something I read, but nothing is coming to me."  He shrugged.  "To me, the last part sounds a bit like a counter-spell."  Gilder's eyes twinkled. "Be shown to us, awaken, called Daydraea the earth child!" he announced in a voice that teasingly commanded majesty.

            The ground began to shake.  It was a low rumble at first, but the tremors began to intensify swiftly, causing all within the room to cry out in surprise and attempt to brace themselves.  Out of the commotion, Vyse suddenly exclaimed "look!!"

            The wall upon which they had just been staring started to break open.  Split by a seam down the middle that was unnoticeable before, two slabs of rock slowly began to slide away from each other, opening into darkness beyond.  The ancient structure, while still solid and standing, did not endure centuries of time without some weathering, and as the tremors reached a climax, the ancient ceiling rained dust and chips of rock onto the people below.  Vyse quickly stepped over to cover Fina, holding his own head down and protecting it with the arm holding his torch, and Gilder did the same for Aika.

            The tremors stopped.  Dust began to settle around the four air pirates, and they straightened to peer into the new opening in the wall.  From within the newly revealed chamber, a light began to glow steadily brighter.


	2. Short History of the Eons

CHAPTER 2  
  
The "Eons" is what they used to call themselves. It was a title to address the seven spiritual entities of the Moons, and as they are timeless, the word fits them well. For the present inhabitants of Arcadia, it is a mistake for them to think that the Moons are no more than their physical selves that hover above the upper sky, governing climate and life on the immediate continents below them. No, the physical sphere of the moon was, for a long time during the age of the Old World, merely a symbolic object that hung in the heavens to signify the existence of the particular Eon; objects charged with the energy and colour of the Eon. They were not physical beings, as you and I may imagine, but simply spiritual energy. Pure, untainted magic.  
The Eons were energy with consciousness. They knew of each other, and of the earth-sphere called Arcadia by mankind. They knew not the difference between good and evil. Eventually, mankind discovered they could call upon the spirit force of the Eons, and be granted a small part of their energy to do his bidding. The requirements were simple enough: hold the intended use of the Eon's power firmly in the mind, be strong enough spirit, and call forth the Eon. Thus, it is in this way that one with good or evil intent may borrow the awesome power of the Eons, and it is thus that these Eons could produce forth the most devastating rains of destruction. But if the one calling forth the Eons wished to do so without being strong enough in spirit, the Eons would not respond, the bidder being left on his own.  
The Eons each had their own names, once, but have so long since been forgotten by mankind that the Eons themselves have forgotten them. They themselves have no use for individual names; no one energy resonates like another. The only entities whose names are still whispered within the ripple of energy that is Eon consciousness are "Paralu", or great mother, and "Daydraea," or the earth-child.  
Paralu, and later her daughter, Daydraea, were of a different spiritual ki than the Eons. This was to be expected; Paralu is the spiritual entity of the earth itself, that which the people named Arcadia. She drew from a deep reservoir of energy, and all of it used to create life and was needed to keep the world balanced, lush, and healthy. Paralu was of higher consciousness than the Eons, since she, unlike her companions the Moons, governed a massive, dynamic living organism. She did her job well, and she did it with love. The odd times that the power of the Eons would reach down and disrupt something made very little difference overall on the cycles of Arcadia, and Paralu and the Eons had a peaceful relationship.  
As time marched on, Paralu started to tire, though she was no less diligent than the day she began. She knew it would soon be time to pass her responsibilities onto another, knowing that Arcadia could only be kept as fresh and lush as it has been with a new spiritual governor. She also knew that as the people and creatures of her world continued to grow and evolve, it would not be sufficient to remain within a spirit form. While all the spiritual entities could take on physical forms for brief periods of time, Paralu's successor must be able to have a permanent physical body so that she may better address and attend to her duties. The earth was always changing; but it had changed to a point that was forcing Paralu to change as well.  
Paralu created Daydraea, a slight girl who would forever appear to be the age of fourteen, with rusty-blonde hair that descended to be waist- length, and green-grey eyes. Unforeseen by great mother, however, was that by creating another physical manifestation of herself, Daydraea was left without the power to manipulate her spirit. In common terms, Daydraea could not use magic.  
A most loving child, and most devout to the duties she was born to, Paralu knew that her daughter would do her best to take care of the earth that her mother had given her.but she also knew that without magic power, Daydraea would be left without the ability to protect Arcadia should the situation arise.  
It was the Eon of the Black Moon who stepped in, then. Unusually fond of Arcadia, and Paralu, he presented a solution. He could create twin bracelets, one to be worn on each wrist, made of black moonstones. Forgotten even in the most recent of the ancient tales of the Eons, the Black Moon was that of darkness, and power. Incredible strength of spirit was required to call down the power of the Black Eon, and those that could manage to muster up the spirit that it took to do so were destroyed soon afterwards, left with nothing after the bidding. These bracelets would tap directly into the power of the Black Moon so that Daydraea would be able to call upon any earthen magic she may ever need, and as a spiritual being herself, would suffer no repercussions.  
This was the solution Paralu needed. Black Eon gladly gave Daydraea the bracelets, twin bands of shiny, smooth black moonstone that fit her wrists perfectly. Since then, the bond between the ki of the Black Moon and that of the earth was strong, and Daydraea has since addressed the Eon as "uncle".  
With her daughter now able to fulfill her duties, and likely even better than Paralu ever could, it was time for her consciousness to rest. The gathering of energy that was the spirit of Paralu swirled around Daydraea one final time, and dissolved into the very air.  
The remaining six Eons were enraged. The powers and energies of their being were freely given to the mankind who sought them, but they were primitive creatures! Was it not enough that the earth spirit would always be greater than the seven combined, that it needed energy from that of the Eons as well?  
Feeling their positions threatened, the six decided that none of the people of Arcadia must ever learn of this, for, as legends go, the workings of the Gods are rarely left secret. They held a swift counsel, knowing that Dayraea would be quick to learn from Black Eon the ways of magic, and any chance for an attack would be lost. A plan decided, the counsel broke and implemented it immediately.  
A simple, yet adequate stone structure was erected by Red Eon, the gardens surrounding it established by Green Eon. Daydraea was located and quickly seized by the Silver Eon, and brought to the new stone structure, as Purple, Blue, and Yellow Eons fought any resistance from Black. As great as the Black Eon's power was, despite being pure power, its energy was only as great as the next Eon. To challenge power greater than he could handle would be the undoing of himself.  
Daydraea, scared, and as of yet unable to summon enough of the earth sphere's energy to protect her, was placed onto a polished stone throne in the room at the far end of the confinement to which she was being banished. The Yellow Eon took her bracelets, the Blue Eon placed the pretty spirit girl into a deep sleep, using a powerful spell, and finally, the Purple Eon arranged her on the stone throne. The Red Eon sealed the room, with Silver creating the counter-spell that would release her. The rage and jealousy of the Eons ran strong, but they knew that there may come a time when it was no longer feasible for the guardian and nurturing spirit of the earth to remain asleep within a secluded rock structure. They decided that it would be best to hide the bracelets, and scatter them separately into the world, since they could not destroy them. Green etched these words into the rock wall that sealed her chamber:  
Abandoned by her wise old mother, she is shut into deep sleep and away in anticipation of the arrival of god or man to speak the words that would render the spell broken. The words spoken thus: return, be shown to us, and awaken, the earth-child called Daydraea!  
But what if the Black Eon were to sneak into this place, and release her himself? Then surely all would be lost! It was quickly realized that Black had to be eliminated as a threat. Banding together the sum of their energies, the mad six focused, and destroyed the Black Moon. It is impossible to destroy energy, and spiritual energy is no different - however, with the destruction of the moon, the most physical concentration of the Eon's energy and power, the energy was scattered. Dissipated across all of Arcadia, the Black Eon could no longer summon enough energy at any given time to be more than a voice and a shimmer.  
It was then that the Moons began to preside over their chosen continents, and to shape the climate and land accordingly. It was later, then, that Old World Arcadia as Daydraea knew it, would be decimated by the Rains of Destruction, plunging her once highland sleeping place into the bowels of Deep Sky.  
As time continued its flow, the earth child was forgotten, and the spell placed upon her slowly weakened, but never broke. Daydraea could feel herself in a state of semi-consciousness, similar to that of human dozing, and although she was in this slow state of awakening for centuries, it felt like mere few human minutes. She could see nothing but darkness. Suddenly, as though a great fog were lifting, she could see and even feel light begin to caress her timeless face and skin, and she felt warm.but then as the light grew brighter, the great fog that was leaving her body began to swell and collect into her head. The light had reached its peak, and she could see four figures in silhouette a short distance away.  
'But shouldn't there be six.?' she asked herself seemingly out of nowhere. Attempting to move, a new wave of weakness washed over her, and a heavy drowsiness swept her back into sleep as the four began to approach the stone throne. 


	3. The Earth Child Wakes

CHAPTER 3

            For a moment, as the light brightened steadily to reach a climax, the four stunned air pirates just stood where they were, frozen, like animals caught in sudden bright lamplight.

            "Vyse, you go first!" requested Aika, blinking as she tried to adjust to the sudden luminescence.  

            "I will, once I can see something clearly.  My eyes are dazzled!"

            "I think he speaks for all of us in that respect," added Guilder, trying to use a hand on his forehead to shield his eyes.  It seemed like a long moment before the four could see clearly again without getting a headache.

            Vyse stepped into the newly revealed room, closely followed by Fina and Aika.  Gilder brought up the rear.  The room was empty except for the stone throne-like object in the centre of it…and the beautiful, young-looking girl placed on it.  They gasped in unison. 

            She was clothed in layers upon layers of a light, sheer fabric, but the exact colour was indeterminable from the inch or two of dust that lay across everything.  Her hair looked to be a dusty, grey-blonde colour, and her skin a stone grey.  She sat slumped on the left side of the throne, her head tilted and leaning against her own shoulder.  Her bare feet dangled from the great chair, but did not reach the ground.

            They were each caught speechless for a moment.  "Is she…dead?" Aika asked in a whisper, taking on her stance of leaning back with her face caught in an expression of apprehension, and curiosity.  Vyse was frowning, as was Fina.  Gilder's expression was neutral, his feelings difficult to read.

            "If she is, she seems very well preserved…" Gilder observed, trailing off.

            Vyse was shaking his head.  "This whole place is too weird to be a simple tomb."

            "She…she's not dead," whispered Fina, who always spoke in soft tones to begin with.  She had begun to waddle over closer to the throne.

            "Fina!" exclaimed Vyse, starting up to match pace with her.

            Gilder and Aika exchanged glances, Aika's unmistakably portraying worry.  They followed, Aika quietly moaning to herself, "please don't be a ghost, pleeeeeease don't…"

            Daydraea, merely dozing on the throne as she lacked the energy yet to raise herself up, could hear the voices and the footsteps slowly approaching the place where she involuntarily rested for countless centuries.  What was most reassuring was that she could hear and feel that both were very close to her, now.  A private relief came over her as she thought, 'finally, that I may leave this place and take care of my beloved earth once more!'

            It did not yet occur to her that she didn't understand a word that the mortals were saying.

            Fina and Vyse reached the throne first.  All of them were still baffled as to who this girl was, and what to do with her…and in the back of their minds, they secretly wondered what she instead might do to them.

            The four of them now gathered, Vyse reached out and touched the girl's arm.  She didn't respond.  Another gasp as eyes widened when Vyse retracted his fingers and left distinct marks where he had lifted some dust off of the girl's skin.  Underneath a thick layer of grey dust, gleaming, pale skin was revealed.

            "Wh-what's wrong with this ghost?  I guess she doesn't want to come out to play, can we go now?"  Aika stuttered softly.  The realization that there was no treasure but a dormant ghost in this deep, dark place had put her usual cheery treasure hunting mood off and replaced it with a fearful anxiety.  She wanted to leave this place behind and re-emerge into the sunlight of middle and upper sky, safe, sound, and…well, unhaunted.

            Fina leaned forward, placing her hands on the seat of the throne as she leaned in closer towards the girl's face.  She turned her head and smiled warmly at Aika.  "She's no ghost, Aika.  She's…sleeping."  

            Gilder raised an eyebrow.  "How do you know?  Looks like an uncomfortable place for a nap."

            "And a long one, at that," added Vyse, rubbing the dust between his fingers.

            Fina had turned her head to face the girl again.  "Something very super-natural has happened here…I don't know what, but…I think we should take her with us."  She raised a hand to dust off the sleeping girl's face.  More of that beautiful skin was revealed, as well as a delicate face that portrayed one who was no older than fourteen.

            "She's just a kid!" exclaimed Gilder.

            "Or rather, she looks like one," smirked Aika, again taking on her most natural pose.  Fina had taken to dusting off the girl's hair.  The parts that had the grey dust brushed off of it showed a beautiful, shiny, rusty-blonde.

            The gentle touch upon her face and hair brought new energy into Deydraea's being.  Her eyes slowly opened.  Fina froze in what she was doing, the other three instantly held their breath.  Just as slowly, Daydraea smiled and raised her head off her shoulder, releasing a small cloud of dust as it fell off of the top of her head.

            Moving her eyes across her four rescuers, she thought to herself 'why, they look like a bunch of pirates!'  Fina had drawn herself back to the other three, and was watching with her hands again clasped on her chest.  Daydraea's smile stretched wider.  She pulled her feet up to sit in a cross-legged position on the throne (and again stirring more dust off of her body), and flipped her hair behind her shoulders with both hands.  The dust that rose from the latter action lifted and slightly clouded the light around her momentarily.

            Grinning, now, Daydraea thought she felt strong enough (for the moment, anyway) to try her voice.  "Hello, people!  I thank you very much for releasing me.  What are your names?"

            Silence.  Each of the four air pirate's faces contorted in their way of expressing confusion.

            Vyse turned his head.  "…Fina?" he prompted the fellow party member

            Fina shook her head slowly, her eyes wide.  "I'm as confused as you are."

            Aika turned to face Gilder.  "Well?"

            "And why would you think I know any better than you guys?" Gilder asked, his face falling into a "you-know-better-than-that" look.

            "You seemed to have an idea as to why this place was here," Aika smirked.

            Gilder sweatdropped.  "You don't really want to know where I read all that…"

            "Oh do tell."

            During the conversation, Daydraea's smile faded into a frown of confusion.  'I don't understand anything they are saying!  But…how can this be?  I know all the languages of the people of the world! Unless—'

            Her thoughts were cut short by Vyse extending his hand towards her.  She looked from his hand, to his face, and back again.

            "Vyse, what are you doing…?" inquired Aika, a little apprehensive again.

            "What does it look like?  We're getting her out of here.  Whoever…or whatever she is, she wasn't meant for this place.  The least that we can do is help her out."  He looked back to Daydraea and smiled, offering his hand again in encouragement for her to take it.

            Gilder had crossed his arms, resting a hand and forefinger on his chin, smirking to himself.  "Very nice, Vyse!  Maybe I should be taking notes."

            Aika turned to look at Gilder with her eyebrows lowered into her "you've-got-to-be-kidding" facial expression before turning to look back at Vyse.  "You're right.  We're Blue Rogues!  Since when have we ever deserted someone in need?"  Smiling, she turned to Daydraea and offered her hand as well.

            Daydraea looked from one hand to the other.  For a moment, no one moved.  'They mean to help me, despite being unable to understand my words!  If this is so, then maybe they will help me find my bracelets, as well…after all, they did find me here…'  Her face suddenly split into a beautiful grin, her green-grey eyes shining.  Lifting both her hands, she placed them into the hands of Vyse and Aika.  The smile had spread to all four of the air pirates.  Daydraea felt safe and welcome as the hands of Vyse and Aika closed on hers.

            She slid her feet out from under her knees and was standing on the cold, stone floor, when remnants of the powerful sleep spell washed over her again, but this time it would be for the last time.  Nonetheless, her knees buckled as she once again was plunged into sleep (or as close to it as a spiritual entity as herself can get).  Her unconscious head fell back as her eyes closed and she would have fallen to the floor if Aika hadn't quickly stepped to catch the falling girl, to the sound of gasps of the others.

            "What's wrong, what happened?" Gilder was asking, watching the scene.

            "A little help, here?!" Aika exerted, who was in an awkward position to begin with, and now was having trouble standing underneath the weight of the sleeping earth child and was beginning to sink to the floor herself.

            "Here, Aika, I can piggy-back her to the ship," offered Vyse, stepping towards her.  He wedged himself between Aika and Daydraea, draped her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips and lifted her relatively effortlessly.

            "Are you sure?" Fina asked him.

            "Of course.  I used to piggy back Aika all the time when we were kids, right?"  He looked over at Aika for support.

            Aika blushed unwillingly.  She avoided eye contact.  "That's not exactly, um, relevant right now, Vyse…"

            Unsure as to what brought on the sudden discomfort in Aika, he shrugged (kind of) and turned to the other two.  "Shall we go?"

            Vyse and Gilder started back towards the exit, the passageway being lit, for the most part, by the strange and magical light that still shone in the room.  Fina silently noted how shiny the rock was underneath the outline of the girl they just removed from it.  'You poor, dear girl…how long have you really been confined here?'

Aika noted it as well, but thought little of it.  Something else was on her mind.  "Hey, Fina?  What could have kept her dormant for so long?"

            "Hm?  Oh, very strong magic would be my best guess.  She is immortal in some way…whoever placed her here knew that the only way to keep her out of the way for a period of time would be to seal her up and put her down."  

            "It looks like this treasure hunt isn't over after all!" grinned Aika, resuming her natural cheer.

            Fina turned to look at her, also smiling.  "What do you mean?"

            "Well, now we have to find out who she is, and why she was really here!  Doesn't that sound exciting?"

            Fina closed her eyes to nod in agreement.  "Aika, traveling with you and Vyse is more excitement than I ever expected in my lifetime!"  But Aika was deaf to the compliment, her imagination already engrossed in exploring more of Deep Sky, places filled with treasure, adventure, and of course, fun.

            If only she knew the half of it.


End file.
